Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Veteran's Day Celebration

Yesterday we had a very special Veteran's Day assembly.  Several veterans from the area were invited to join us in our celebration.  This assembly was to honor the men and women who have served our country.  This was a wonderful opportunity for students to learn about veterans, honor, and respect.  First, the veterans brought in the colors.  We then did the pledge of allegiance together.  After we presented our guests with patriotic songs that we had learned with Mrs. McVety.  

Entering of the colors

Saying the pledge

Singing patriotic songs

Honoring our veterans!

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Pearson Farm

Friday we had a wonderful time on our field trip to Pearson's farm.  It was a great opportunity for students to learn about harvesting plants.  It went right along with our plant unit that we had just completed.  While we picked beets we talked about the different parts of the plant.  After we finished picking plants we sorted through the beats.  The small ones went to the bunnies at the farm, and the large ones came back to school with us for the cafeteria to make something with them.  Some of the class got to help sort through kale and tamales.  At the end of our hard work we got to see the sheet and bunnies.  It was a lot of fun, and we are so thankful to Mrs. Flag for helping to write the grant that allowed us to go on this wonderful field trip!

Here is Pearson Farm's website: Pearson Farm

We're on our way!


Farmer Mike telling us about the farm

got to play a little bit before being a hard working farmer

Picking beets

wow that was a doozi



A beet collection




Seeing a few sheep

Feeding the bunnies some of our pickings

ah we love those bunnies!

Tuesday, October 23, 2012






Parent Teacher Conferences

Please check you child's folder for the upcoming parent teacher conferences.  I will be holding conferences the week of November 5th.  If you are unable to make the times that are offered please let me know, and we can try to set up a different time on a different week.  I am looking forward to meeting you and discussing your child's progress so far in 1st grade.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Important Upcoming Events



Picture Retake

Friday, October 26th is our picture retake day.  If you would like to have your child's picture redone please send the old one in on Friday to have a new one taken!



Field Trip

On November 2nd we will be going to Pearson's Farm at St. Joseph's college.  We were blessed to receive a grant that allows the 1st grade to go and experience a working farm.  We will be picking different types of root vegetables.  This will go perfectly with our plant unit that we just completed.  On top of this, we will be bringing back the vegetables that we pick so that the ladies in the cafeteria can cook it up for the schools lunch!  This is a great opportunity for students to learn about how plants are grown and used for food.  Please make sure your child is dressed in appropriate fall clothes.  The link below tells a little bit about Pearson's farm.




Harvest Party Celebration

This year Halloween falls on a Wednesday.  As we all know this day is a very exciting for kids.  Because of how much that is going on for them that day, and it being in the middle of the week, we are going to have a small celebration at school.  I am planning on having it be a popcorn movie time in the afternoon.  If you would like to either donate popcorn, another healthy snack, or juice boxes to the celebration please let me know.

Sunday, October 14, 2012


Fire Safety

Friday was our Fire Safety day.  We were fortunately enough to have our local fire department come in and share about the importance of fire safety.  They talked about Stop, Drop, Roll, 911, and how to have a plan in place at your home in case there is a fire.  We also got to practice a fire drill with a real fire truck there.  I've attached a great website for kids about fire safety.  It has games and great family things to discuss concerning fire alarms and a fire escape plan.  






Spelling City




Dear Parents,

This year, we will be using VocabularySpellingCity.com in our classroom.
VocabularySpellingCity is a website that helps students learn their weekly spelling and vocabulary words while having fun at the same time.

As a teacher, I will put up my weekly spelling lists on VocabularySpellingCity and your children
can review the words, and play spelling and vocabulary games with their words to reinforce the
learning process.

Here’s how to help your child master his or her spelling and vocabulary words:  Simply go to www.spellingcity.com to see how the site works.  To get started, click on “Sample Lists” and choose any list you like.  Then try the Teach Me, Test Me, or Play A Game link.  You can find our class’ spelling lists by using the Find A List feature and searching for my name, Kristen Saunders, or you can go directly to my VocabularySpellingCity homepage at http://www.spellingcity.com/krissaunders1/.  You can bookmark this URL on your computer to make it easy for your child to access the class’ word lists!

Many kids enjoy building their spelling skills with Spelling City. Please encourage your children to spend about twenty minutes, two nights in a row before their weekly test. Let’s work together as a team to ensure that your child becomes an independent, lifelong learner.

Yours truly,
Mrs. Saunders

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Busy Start






This has been a very busy start to the school year, as I'm sure all of you are feeling the business also.  I will try to write a blog once a week or at least every other week to keep you up to date with what is going on in the classroom.  Here are a few highlights from the different subject areas.

Reading:  We have been working on short vowel sounds /a/ and /i/, we've started our small group guided reading groups (some students meet with Mrs. Scorza), we've learned some new vocabulary, and talked about retelling a story using a beginning, middle and end.

Math:  We did some review of number writing 0-9, tally marks, and telling time on the hour.  We have also had the opportunity to use the classroom calculators and we received our own math tool kits.  Ask your child what we have in them so far.

Writing:  We have worked on sentences containing a telling and a naming part.  Our goal now is to try to write 2-3 sentences about ourself or something.  Another goal for writing right now is to remember spaces between words, capital at the beginning of sentences, and punctuation at the end of the sentence.

Science:  Mrs. Scorza has just completed the plant unit.  We have learned about the parts of plants, what the function of the different parts are, and the life cycle of a plant.

Social Studies:  Next week Mrs. Scorza will be moving us on to social studies with a few lessons about Columbus Day


Wednesday, September 12, 2012



Welcome to First Grade

Welcome to a new school year. I am excited to meet your child and family.  This year will be lots of fun and learning. First grade is a huge transition from Kindergarten and the expectations are very different.
Your child will come home tired for the first few months of school.  There is not much play time in first grade. Children have a recess at lunch.  Your child will need a snack daily to help keep them going during
the day. It is very important that they have healthy snacks and drinks.  Please do not send them candy or soda.
In first grade children love to bring things in to show their friends.  Unfortunately this causes many issues. I ask that no toys be sent to school. I understand that some children have a long bus ride or go to
after school care and are allowed toys then. This is fine as long as they remain in their bags during the school day. Any toys that are taken out in the class will be kept until the end of the year. Thanks for your help
with this.
Homework will consist of spelling and math.   Each week you will also receive spelling words to practice with your child. They will be tested at the end of the week. Also, your child will have three math homelinks that coincide with our daily lessons.  Please return the math homelinks the next day, and the spelling is for your use at home.  The only other homework that will come home is work that is not completed in school. Please encourage your child to complete their work at school. This is where it should be done as I am there to assist in anyway that may be needed.  We highly encourage you to continue your bed time story routine.
At the end of the year I sent home a flier with your child from Mrs. Scorza and myself.  I just wanted to fill you in some more on the team teaching that we will be doing this year.  I will be testing your child early on in the year to see what her/his needs are in reading and math.  Then, Mrs. Scorza and I will decide on what flexible groups your child will continue to grow at their academic level.  This may mean that your child will work in a reading or math group for part of the time with Mrs. Scorza.  The groups will be evaluated throughout the year, and I will try to keep you informed as to your child’s progress and moving of groups between classrooms.  If you have any questions concerning the team teaching that Mrs. Scorza and I will be doing please do not hesitate to contact me.
I am looking forward to seeing your child grow this year as a learner!  You will be fascinated by the changes in your child this year.  Please do not hesitate to email or call with any questions or concerns
you may have. Remember if I don't know about them I can not help resolve them.  You may email me at kristen.saunders@lakeregionschools.org or call and leave a message with the office at 693-6828.

Sincerely,
 Mrs. Saunders

Friday, February 3, 2012

February News

                                                                                                                              February 3, 2012
                                         Mrs. Saunders Newsletter
Dear Families,
I hope this letter finds you all healthy and well.  I know that there has been a number of coughing, belly aches, and headaches.  If your child has had a cough, and you would like to send them in cough drops, they are more then welcome to have them in their backpack. 

Seeing that it is the middle of the school year, it a good time to go over the behavior contract that you and your child signed at the start of the year.  If you would like a new copy of this, please send a note in with your child and I will send one home with them.

Also, I am sending some information home about your child’s latest Every Day Math assessment.  If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me or call me at school.  

There are a few things coming up in the month of February.  First, mid trimester progress reports will be going home on Monday, February 6th.  Next on February 14th we will be having our Valentine’s Day celebration.  I will be sending home a list of kids names for Valentines, and giving you more information about the celebration next week.  Finally the week of February 19th is winter break!  

Finally, during these chilly winter months if you could send your child in a sweatshirt that could stay here at school that would be wonderful.  Our room can get a bit cold on certain days, and it can be rough to work in our jackets, especially if they are wet from recess.  Thank you for all your help.
      

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Literacy Block

As you may have heard from you child we have regrouped our literacy block groups.  As a first grade team we decided these groups by basing them off of an assessment that was given to all of the students.  The assessment covered  phoneme segmentation, nonsense words, letter sounds, and oral reading fluency.  Each classroom will be working on these different components during literacy block time, depending on the section that the group of students struggled with.  


In addition to this your child will be continuing to meet with me for guided reading groups at different times throughout the day.  We are all excited to start these interventions with our first grade students.  We believe by helping them in these specific areas that you will see gains in there reading.  


If you have any questions or concerns about where and why your child is in a specific reading group do not hesitate to call me or send me an e-mail, kristen.saunders@lakeregionschools.org.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Christmas Concert

Here a couple pictures of the wonderful concert.  I'm so glad that everyone was able to make it.  I am so very proud of everyone, it was such a wonderful show!



Thursday, December 15, 2011

Holiday Celebration

December 16, 2011

Saunder’s Newsletter

Dear Families,

This month has been filled with lots of excitement and activity here at school.  This week we had our Holiday concert, which went very well.  I am so proud of all the hard work that everyone put into making the concert go so well! 
 
Next week will be full of lots of fun Christmas activities as we make our way to Christmas break.  One of the special things that we will be doing next week will be our Holiday party.  We have filled our marble jar so we will be combining this with our celebration. Our celebration will be at 2:10 on December 22nd.  As part of our celebration we will be having a pajama day.  Please make sure your child wears appropriate shoes.  Also, the class voted on having ice cream sundaes for their prize.  So, we will have this along with some healthy snacks.  If you can help with the topping for this celebration or healthy snacks to go along with our sundaes please send in the attached form with your child.   

Our holiday break will start on December 23rd through January 2nd.  I hope that everyone has a wonderful and very happy Christmas!!

Sincerely,
 Mrs. Saunders





Holiday Party


_______  Bucket of Ice Cream ________ Jimmies

_______   Chocolate Syrup ________  Cherries

_______   Strawberry Syrup ________ Veggies/Dip

_______    Whipped Cream ________  Cheese/Crackers

_______    Drinks ________  Fruit

________  Bowls ________   Plates



Child’s Name: _______________________________________

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Rick Charette

Last Friday we were privileged to have Rick Charette come to our school and share some of his wonderful songs.  Everyone had a wonderful time, and I think I heard students singing his songs throughout the rest of the day!  Here are a couple pictures of our time with Mr. Charette!







Tuesday, November 29, 2011

December

Dear Families, 


December is a very fast and busy month, for you and here at school.  Just to keep you posted on what is going on here at school, I am listing some important and exciting upcoming events and dates.  During the month of December we will be learning about different holiday traditions!  We will be studying Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, and Christmas.  Everyone is already excited and anticipating the holiday season in our classroom.  We will be planning a holiday party the week before Christmas break, I will send home a notice concerning this event at a later time.  Report cards will be coming home shortly, if you have any concerns or questions about your child's grades please call or send me an e-mail and we can set up a meeting.  


December Dates:


December 2nd - Rick Charette Concert 
December 7th - Early Release
December 9th - Report Cards come home!!
December 14th - Holiday Concert at 2:00
December 23-January 2nd - Christmas break

Friday, November 4, 2011

Math Games


Addition Top-It
Materials: 
Deck of Cards A-9.  Mark Ace as 1.
Objective:
To collect the most cards
Directions:
One player shuffles the cards and deals the cards to the players
Each player turns over 2 cards and calls out the sum of the numbers.  Players check each other’s work.
The player with the greatest sum takes all the cards.  In case of a tie, each player turns over 2 more cards and calls out the sum.  The player with the greater sum takes all of the cards.  Cards are placed on the bottom of the winners deck.  
Play ends when a player is out of cards.

Beat the Calculator
Materials:
Deck of cards A-9.  Mark Ace as 1.
Calculator
Objectives:
To beat the calculator in finding the answer to an addition fact
Directions:
 One player is the ‘brain’, one is the ‘calculator’, and one is the ‘caller’.
One player shuffles the cards and places them with the numbers face-down.
The caller draws 2 cards from the number deck and asks for the sum of the 2 numbers.
The calculator solves the problem using a calculator.  The brain solves it without a calculator.  AS soon as a player has found the sum, he or she says it aloud.  The caller decided who got the correct answer first.
Players trade roles every 10 turns or so.


Coin Dice
Materials:
60 pennies
12 nickels
6 dimes
2 dice
Objective:
To have more money than the other players
Directions:
Players put all the coins in a bank.
Players take turns.  For each turn, player rolls both dice and takes as many pennies from the bank as the total number on the dice.
As the end of each turn, a player makes any possible exchanges form the bank- 5 pennies for 1 nickel, 5 pennies and one nickel for a dime, 2 nickels for a dime, or 10 pennies for a dime.
To pick up the last pennies, the total number on the dice must match the total value of the remaining coins.
The winner is the player who has more money.

Dice Roll and Tally Game
Materials:
Game Master
1 die
Objective:
To be the first player to have 5 tally marks next to each of the numbers 1 - 6
Directions:
 Players take turns rolling a die and putting a tally mark next to the appropriate number on their tally chart.
The first player to have at least 5 tally marks next to each number is the winner.
Variation: Players take turns rolling the die for 3 minutes.  Before they begin, have them predict which number or numbers will come up most often.


Digit Game
Materials:
Deck of cards A-9. Mark A as 1.
Objective:
To collect more cards than the other player
Directions:
One player shuffles the deck and places it with the numbers face down.
Each player draws 2 cards form the deck and uses them to make the largest number possible.
The player who makes the larger number takes all the cards.
The game is over when all of the cards have been used.

Fact Power Game
Materials:
Game Master 51
1 die
1 crayon per player
Objective:
To have the greatest number of marked spaces
Directions:
Player 1 rolls the dice and moves that number of spaces on the game board, following the arrows.  
When players land on a space, they say the sum.  The other players in the group check the answer.  If it is correct, the player marks the space with his color.  Once a space is marked, it is skipped over by the other players.  
The player with the most spaces marked, is the winner.


High Roller
Materials:
2 dice
Objective:
To roll the highest number
Directions:
One player rolls the dice.  The player keeps the die with the larger number and throws the other die again.
The player counts on from the number rolled on the first die to get the sum of the two dice.  
Each player repeats steps 1 and 2.  the winner is the player with the highest number after 2 rounds.


Penny-Nickel-Dime Exchange
Materials:
1 die
20 pennies
10 dimes
10 nickels
Objective:
To collect more dimes than the other players
Directions:
Players put all the coins into the bank.
Players take turns rolling the die and collecting the number of pennies from the bank that matches the number rolled.  Whenever a player acquires 5 or more pennies, he or she needs to make an exchange.  Whenever a player has at least 2 nickels or 1 nickel and 5 pennies, he or she needs to exchange the coins.
The game ends when there are no more dimes in the bank.  The player with more dimes is the winner.

Tic-Tac-Toe Addition
Materials:
Game Master 150 (or create your own game board)
Objective:
To find the sum of 3 numbers
Directions:
Players use the 4 number grids at the top of the record sheet.  
They draw a straight line through 3 numbers on a grid if they equally the sum in the square.  There is more than one combination for each sum.
Variation: Players make up their own puzzles using the blank grids on the bottom of the record sheet.

Turn Around Facts Game
Materials:
Game master 155
2 dice
20 pennies
Objective:
To collect more pennies than the other players
Directions:
Players take turns.  At each turn, a player does the following:
Rolls the dice and finds the total number of dots on the 2 dice.
Writes the total in the appropriate box in the table, then writes the sum in the ox for the turn around fact, if there is one.
Takes 1 penny from the bank for each box in the table he or she has filled in.      
         If the box has already been filled in, the player takes no pennies from the bank    
             and loses the turn.
         The game is over when all the pennies have been taken.  The player who took   
             more pennies wins.

Spelling

November  7, 2011

Dear Families,
Because the week of the 7th and the week of the 21st are short weeks we will be switching things around.  So as to not lose ground with the consistency of spelling we will be having this weeks spelling test on the 15th and the week afters test on the 22nd.  Please practice these words with your child. 

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Harvest Celebration

Dear Families,

The first grade team will be having a harvest festival on Monday, October 31st.  As we end our unit on plants, each classroom will be cooking a fall food recipe focused around apples and pumpkins.  In lieu of a holiday party each classroom will share their food creations with the other first grades in the afternoon.  We are asking for donations of ingredients instead of holiday treats.  Also, student council has also made this day black and orange day!
First Grade Team

Ingredients:

1 medium sized pumpkin _____________               
Drinks___________________
Old newspapers  _________________                   
Sugar__________________
Cups  _________________                                        
Cinnamon __________________
Napkins _________________                                    
Lemon Juice ________________      
Plates _________________                                       
1 bag of apples   ________________
1 bag of apples  __________________

If you can donate any of these items please let me know as soon as possible.  We may try to start some baking on Friday if possible.  Thank you so much.  I also would love to have one or two helpers on Monday for a couple hours to help cook if anyone if interested please let me know a time you are available.
 Thanks again.  
Mrs. Saunders

Monday, October 24, 2011

What's New!!

Dear Families,
I'm sorry that I haven't had a new post in a while.  Life got a little on the busy side.  I am hoping that the internet will come in at home tomorrow so that I will be able to be more consistent with my updates!  Things are really on a roll here in our room.  It is exciting to see how we have started to get into a routine, and have really wonderful learning days!

Last week we finished our plant unit.  We have a wonderful bean plant growing in our classroom window. I am sure that if your child joins us for parent/teacher conferences that they will want to share with you the process that we went through to get this plant this large!

This week we have started our Social Studies unit called Now and Long Ago.  We have been learning and comparing how life in the home and schools were in the past to how they are now.  We will continue this unit of study right up till Thanksgiving.

The first grade is planning something different for our holiday/Halloween celebration Monday the 31st.  I will be sending home more information about this tomorrow.

I am looking forward to meeting with each of you this week during parent/teacher conferences.  Please bring any questions or concerns that may have come about due to the progress reports.  I am also looking forward to sharing what is going on with our 1st grade literacy block (what was called learning lab in K).

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Reading

This week we are starting to meet in skill based reading groups.  These groups are to help pinpoint skill areas that your child needs to work on to become a better reader.  In these groups I will be reinforcing the phonics from the that week, working on reading strategies, and comprehension.

Right now the best way to improve your child's reading is to have them practice reading and to read to them!  I have attached a link below about helping children pick a 'just right' book and tips on reading with your child.  This site is full of wonderful and insightful articles!

Selecting Books for Your Child: Finding 'Just Right' Books | Reading Topics A-Z | Reading Rockets

For fun students can practice phonics and reading skills on the website called Starfall.  This website is not only fun but educational!!!

www.starfall.com

Finally, another great reading website is Mrs. P's magic library.  This site contains some games, read alouds, and activities

http://www.mrsp.com/

Happy Reading!!!